Beautiful Alone
by Raiha-chan
Summary: Chap. 4-5 up! Two separated souls must now find ways to return to one another. [semi-AU, shounen ai]
1. Chapter One

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Beautiful Alone

By: Raiha-chan

Warning: Shounen ai, death and kind of semi-AU.

Pairing: I'll let you guess for now. Shouldn't be too hard. ^-^

Teaser: Two separated souls must now find ways to return to one another.

Spoilers: None for now.

Disclaimers: Weiß Kreuz and all its characters belong to Koyasu Takehito and Project Weiß. "Beautiful Alone", the first ED song, does not belong to me either. Do not sue me for I have nothing. Sad, really.

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--- Chapter One ---

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"To every life, there's always an end,  
But I close my eyes, I still see your face; beautiful...  
And I throw a rose as they now lower you down  
But I still believe I'll see you again

I wait for the day that I can once more hold you tight  
Until then, I can't cry this pain away  
Until then, memories are all I have..."

I've always wondered what it takes to love someone. Take my great-grandfather for example. From the stories that grandma always tells me, he once fell in love with someone. But in the end, he ended up letting that person go anyway.

Grandma always said that if you truly love someone, all you would ever want for them is to be happy. Just because you love them, it doesn't mean you have to be with them. And I guess that makes sense, in a way.

So what happened with my great-grandfather? He married my great-grandmother, of course. Grandma used to say that her parents hardly had anything in common and never speaks to each other much, nor were they ever in the same room at the same time. But she knows that deep down inside, they cared for one another.

Grandma used to show me pictures of my great-grandfather. She always mentioned how much I resembled him. I never really believed her until I saw a picture of him. Of course, in terms of personality, we're two completely different people. Grandma said her father was more of a cold, anti-social "jerk" (yes, Grandma _did_ call her own father a jerk), and she said he was rather manipulative, too. I, on the other hand, am your average overactive teenage boy.

…Okay, so maybe overactive isn't the best term to describe me but whatever!

Hmm? It seems like I've been talking so much about my great-grandfather that I neglected to talk about myself.

My name is Brad Crawford II. I was named after my great-grandfather, though I never understand why my parents _must_ add the II. It feels like those kings from the Middle Ages (or somewhere around there…hey, I never said history was my strong point) who all have the same names. Like Louis V, Louis XIV, Louis the…you get the point.

Anyway, back to me. I'm a 17 year old Japanese-American, who's been born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. My dad is American, and my mom is Japanese. I never met my grandfather, because as far as I know, I never had one. I guess it explains why grandma continued using her father's surname, rather than her husband's, as most women usually do after they got married.

I currently attend Tokyo High School as a 2nd year student[1]. You could say I'm a pretty friendly guy. I make friends easily and with just about anyone. But then, I also tend to make enemies even easier.

My best friend in the whole world is the girl who lives right next door to me. We've known each other since we were literally babies, and grew up together. Her name was Hanemura Akiko. Aki (as I like to call her) is a really nice girl, but she can be a big bully sometimes, too. When we were kids, we would always get into various kinds of mischief together.

I guess, in a nutshell, I'm just your typical adolescent who leads a somewhat boring but okay life. Eh? You're still here. Ah, I have nothing more to say…

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"BRAD!" That's my mean, older sister, Maki. I could hear her footsteps as she all but ran up the stairs and threw my door open. I gave her a leveled glare. That woman always finds something to scream at me for. I wonder what it is now…

"I spent literally a YEAR tutoring your dumb ass on math and you give me THIS?!" Maki waved a piece of paper around. I reached over and snatched the paper from her hands, giving it a good look-over.

…Ah, yes. My math test. The one where I got a…does the grade really matter to you?

"I never claimed to be smart," I replied, shrugging nonchalantly.

"I spent every waking moment helping you with your math problems! I even cancelled DATES to help you!"

"Great God, Maki! It's only ONE lousy test! Stop acting like it's the end of the world."

"That's 'onee-chan' for you!" Maki glared, as she knocked me a good one. I pouted up at her, rubbing my sore head with one hand. You can't exactly say my sister doesn't have a soft spot for cute puppy faces.

Of course, I'm a master at them.

"You better get a damn higher grade than that on your next test!" was all she said before she stomped back out. Score one for the little brother!

"Oh, by the way," Maki poked her head back in, smiling smugly. "Grandma wants to know how you're doing in your classes. I left you the honor of answering her yourself."

My jaw hit the floor as the black-haired woman finally left, cackling like a maniac. Did I mention my Grandma has this thing for utter perfection? Last time I got a 90 and she _still_ kicked my ass!

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If my great-grandfather wasn't dead, I'd blame everything on him. But since he is, it's rude to do that to a dead person. From what I've been told, he was a perfectionist, too. No doubt, he raised grandma the same way.

And now Grandma is trying to raise _me_ the same way.

I wonder what I did to deserve this?

"Are you listening, Brad?" Grandma asked, sternly. I snapped my attention back to her and nodded. "Then what did I just say?"

"Uh…" I racked my brain for a good answer but before I could utter even one word, there was a knock on the door. Save!

"Who is it?" my grandmother gave me a look that clearly said that we will continue with this later. I swallowed audibly at her rather scary look.

"Ms. Crawford, the Yoshida's are here," the maid said. Grandma nodded once, stood and left the room, after giving me yet another look. I left shortly as well, heading into the opposite direction.

There are things I must do before my Grandma finds me again.

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"Brad, come here for a moment."

Damn! I was hoping that Grandma wouldn't catch me in the hall. Why does an old woman like her manage to salvage so much of her sense of hearing _and_ sight anyway?

"Yes, Grandma?" I poked my head into the room hesitantly. Grandma was sitting around a squared table with three other guests -- the Yoshida's most probably.

"Sit down," my grandmother ordered silently. I obeyed and sat down next to her. I studied the guests sitting in front of me. There was a black-haired boy sitting between one woman and one man.

"Allow me to introduce you all," Grandma said as soon as I was seated. "This is my grandson, Brad. Brad, this is Mr. and Mrs. Yoshida, with their son Hikaru."

"Nice to meet you," I smiled slightly.

"Oh, what a darling boy you are!" Mrs. Yoshida nodded back. "So polite." Mr. Yoshida nodded at me without a word. I looked at the other boy, Hikaru. He stared right back at me, then finally, he turned his eyes away.

What a rude person.

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Great God, how boring can the conversation be?? I swear, God must be up there somewhere laughing at me. And as an added bonus, that guy keeps looking at me weirdly. I almost snapped at him one time but suddenly remembered that Grandma was in the room as well, so I kept quiet.

So when the guests finally decided to leave, I was nearly jumping for joy. Of course, Grandma just _had_ to invite them to stay for dinner. Which, of course, the Yoshida's just _had_ to accept.

Wonderful. More staring.

Though, for some strange reason, I feel as if I've seen the guy somewhere before. I can't seem to figure out why but I know I've met this person before. I just…_know_.

He had the strangest eye color I've ever seen on a Japanese-born male. They were the color of amethysts. It stood out against the long black hair that frames his pale face. They made him somewhat…attractive, yet mysterious at the same time.

He turned and looked at me again. He tilted his head to a side quizzically. I suddenly felt my face grow hot, though I can't for the life of me know why, and immediately turn the other way.

The wrong way.

I took a step backwards, out of instinct alone, as my Grandma gave me a look. Again. But this time, it was a different look. Grandma looked almost…confused? And maybe it was just me but was that…fear?

Next thing I know, Grandma was chatting away as if nothing has happened and the boy has also disappeared from the room.

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--- End Chapter One ---

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[1] I'm not exactly very sure how the school system works in Japan. So I'm assuming that your average 17-year-old would be in the second year of high school. Correct me on this if I'm wrong. ^^;

On another note, I must say now that I will be switching the time frames a lot. If it gets confusing, sorry. ^^;; And of course, feedback is always welcome! =)


	2. Chapter Two

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Beautiful Alone

By: Raiha-chan

Spoilers: Episode 2.

Disclaimers: Weiß Kreuz and all its characters belong to Koyasu Takehito and Project Weiß. "Beautiful Alone", the first ED song, does not belong to me either. Do not sue me for I have nothing. Sad, really.

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--- Chapter Two ---

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"To every life, there's always an end,  
But I close my eyes, I still see your face; beautiful...  
And I throw a rose as they now lower you down  
But I still believe I'll see you again

I wait for the day that I can once more hold you tight  
Until then, I can't cry this pain away  
Until then, memories are all I have..."

My current mission was simple. I am to escort Mr. Takatori to and from the Human Chess tournament. A rather dull mission (not to mention tournament) at that.

Around the God-knows-which round, a man with red hair and wearing a horrible orange-colored sweater showed up. Quite an interesting person, may I add. I could tell, by the way he moved and carried himself, that he's been trained for this.

The fighting, that is.

The matches in which he fought in were the only ones interesting. It can be rather nice to watch people do something in which they actually _know_ what they're doing…

__

A thin line of silver against the darkness…

I slowly return to reality as the vision faded, a small smirk playing on my lips. What an interesting person, indeed.

----------

I watched as he continued screaming out the name of the very man I work for, endlessly. And with much anger lacing his voice. Even as the helicopter continued its ascend, even through all the noise the thing was making, his voice carried through sharply.

"Find out who he is," my employer said, slightly distracted.

"Yes," I nodded in reply.

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"Nothing?" I asked, watching the young boy stretched his hands after endless hours of typing away at his computer.

"Not even one single file," Nagi shook his head. "It's as if he's been completely wiped off of the face of the earth."

"I doubt that would be hard to believe," I said, remembering the way he had fought in the tournament. "One thing we know for sure is that he's alive."

"Why does Takatori want his file so much anyway?" Nagi asked, absentmindedly, as his eyes continued roaming the contents displayed on the computer screen.

"I do not question those I work for," was all I said before I turned and made a move to leave the room. "If you've found anything, report it right away."

Nagi made no response as I disappeared from the room. I doubt very much that he even heard me in the first place. I made my way towards my room and in the hallway, passed another one of my teammates. The loud and annoying German one.

"The old bag's quite a pedophile," Schuldig commented in a low voice. "Chasing after little boys that are half his age." I didn't do so much as acknowledge his words as I pass him by silently.

There are some things better left off in the dark.

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Nearly two weeks later and still no information on the redhead. The people he works for sure is good when it comes to hiding the truth. Nagi finally decided to give up on his searching, as nothing he did came up with a single file.

Fortunately for him, he is not me. He does not have to put up with that old man's whining. Oh, pardon me. I meant scolding.

The old man must want the redhead pretty badly.

So, after the talk, he sent me back to gather up more information. The man just doesn't know when to quit, it seems. When Nagi looked at me, aghast, I gave him a look that could've froze hell and left the safehouse.

Though at this time of the night, I doubt there are many places I can go to that are still open.

"Looking for a good time?" a nasal voice spoke behind me. I did not answer and watched Schuldig sauntered up beside me. "Follow me."

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I refuse to throttle his neck. Though the idea is very tempting, I simple refuse to give in. As much as I hate to admit it, I need this guy's ability for the team. Killing him would mean no more Schuldig and that is not a good thing.

But that doesn't mean I can't beat him senseless later.

Not surprisingly, Schuldig's idea of a "good time" was the local club. I don't mind coming in here for a drink. But I sure as hell mind the fact that he's been trying to push numerous amount of females onto my lap for the past hour.

Something about pulling that stick out of my ass, he said.

I like the stick exactly where it is, thank you very much.

I glared at the annoying little bastard for the umpteenth time then turned back to my drink. It was my fourth one and I was still as sober as hell. If I was drunk, then the actions I took would be justified. I could kill that bastard and blame it on the alcohol.

"My, my, my," Schuldig murmured beside me. "Look what the cat dragged in." To humor him, I turned and tried to locate what it was that he's been babbling about.

And my eyes immediately fell on a certain redhead, dancing smack in the middle of the dance floor, looking quite drunk.

And quite sexy. With the way he rotated his hips about, anyone is bound to be drawn to him, female and male alike. Full, red lips, opened invitingly…

I slammed the brakes to my thoughts and turned away abruptly. Schuldig either noticed it and chose to not say a thing, or he was too busy ogling. Instinct told me it was the latter.

"There's the other kitten," Schuldig continued his rant. Then, the thought occurred to me. I turned and gave him a look.

"Why on God's green earth do you keep calling them 'kittens'?" The German had once mentioned, while watching Nagi type away at his computer, something about "what a pretty little kitten he was" though I never bothered to ask him what he meant.

Schuldig's eyes glittered with amusement. "That's for me to know and for you to find out," was all he said before he went back to his previous activity.

Have I mentioned how much I hate the guy yet?

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I found out, in a week's time, what Schuldig had meant when he mentioned the "kittens". What a surprising little surprise.

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--- End Chapter Two ---

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I know Brad is somewhat OOC in this chapter but I found it rather hard to write from Brad's POV. . The events in this chapter happened quite fast so I'm sorry if it got confusing. I was trying to get past the details that were both unnecessary and necessary at the same time. ^^;;


	3. Chapter Three

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Beautiful Alone

By: Raiha-chan

Spoilers: None for this chapter.

Disclaimers: Weiß Kreuz and all its characters belong to Koyasu Takehito and Project Weiß. "Beautiful Alone", the first ED song, does not belong to me either. Do not sue me for I have nothing. Sad, really.

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--- Chapter Three ---

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"To every life, there's always an end,  
But I close my eyes, I still see your face; beautiful...  
And I throw a rose as they now lower you down  
But I still believe I'll see you again

I wait for the day that I can once more hold you tight  
Until then, I can't cry this pain away  
Until then, memories are all I have..."

I hate that bastard. I really, _really_ hate him.

Currently, I was busy sulking in a corner, away from my family and friends. It was my sister's birthday today. I decided to be really nice and threw her a little party, inviting nearly everyone she knows.

But somewhere along the line, our old tradition of "embarrass the birthday boy/girl!" was changed to "embarrass the birthday girl's younger brother!" Not fun.

Especially when you have _that_ jerk spilling out nearly _the_ most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to me before, to my parents and friends. And Grandma. Yeah, she gave me a good look after the story was finished.

But I don't blame him. I just hate him, that's all. I blame myself more for telling him in the first place. I've met him just two months ago and there I was, telling him a secret that I never told my own sister. And, contrary to popular belief, my sister and I are pretty close.

Damn jerk. Maybe he'll choke on some food and die.

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"Brad?" a soft voice drifted through my thoughts, and I pulled my head up from where it was laying on my hand. I blinked sleepily up at Hikaru.

"Wha~at?" I drawled out, lazily. The black-haired boy chuckled then pull up a seat beside me. Strange how just 2 months ago, I didn't think we'd be friends at all and here we are, the best of friends.

"I'm sorry," Hikaru murmured softly beside me. "But it just came out without me realizing it and by the time I did, I couldn't pull it back anymore."

"Yes, you could," I replied absentmindedly. "Only if you did, you would be eaten alive by those people." He laughed again.

"Sharing secrets again?" a feminine voice piped up. "Mou, the amount of time you two spend with each other! Should I be jealous?"

"Aki," was all the other boy said in response.

"Ara~? Was I interrupting something?" Aki pretended to be serious but her voice was laced with a very suggestive tone.

"Go shoot yourself or something," I retorted, leaning my head against my hand again in attempt to sleep. Aki laughed then lowered a hand down to ruffle my hair.

"You're so fun, Brad!" Aki was still laughing softly when she turned and walked away, her heels clicking against the floor.

I hate her, too.

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Maybe I should've explained myself a bit more. I met Hikaru two months ago when the Yoshida's were over. Remember the boy that kept staring at me when we met? Yeah, that's him.

Anyway, that night, the Yoshida's stayed for dinner (all thanks to Grandma). I had been wandering around Grandma's house aimlessly the hour before dinner was served and bumped into, quite literally, the boy.

He spoke for the first time since I met him and our friendship started right then and there. He really wasn't so bad once I got to know him. He just tends to give people the wrong impression.

"Brad, wake up, you're drooling on me," I heard a voice sighed, before I picked my head up. I looked around and saw that most of the people who attended the party were already gone.

"I wasn't asleep," I mumbled, laying back down on my 'pillow'.

"Really?" Hikaru shifted a bit, to get more comfortable. When he noticed that he couldn't, he gave a loud, exasperated sigh. "Brad, can't you find another pillow?"

"Nope, you're too comfortable," I smiled as I snuggled closer. Though I would like to know how I ended up sleeping against him in the first place.

As if he could read my thoughts, Hikaru said absentmindedly, "Here I was, just enjoying what little peace and quiet I can get, and the next thing I know, you decided to fall sideways. Onto me. Dammit, why couldn't you have fallen onto the other side?"

"Oh, so you would rather I fall against the _hard_ and _cold_ floor?" I turned my head to a side so he can see my pouting expression.

"Yes."

"Bastard."

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I yawned and stretched lazily. By this time, the party was already over and everyone had already left, including that cocky bastard friend of mine.

"Brad, if you want to sleep, at least go do it in your room," Grandma scolded, as she stopped in front of the couch. I mumbled out a soft 'mm-hmm' before I closed my eyes again. Next thing I know, someone was pulling on my ear.

"Grandma!" I jerked straight up, one hand cradling my injured ear.

"Did you not hear a single word I said, young man?" was all she said.

"Fine, I'll go sleep in my room!" Still rubbing my sore ear, I stood and made my way towards the stairs. Grandma called my name again. I didn't bother to turn, simply pausing at the foot of the stairs.

"This friendship between you and Hikaru," Grandma began. "Is good for the two of you. I'm glad you had such a nice young man for a friend."

Huh? I turned and fixed my grandmother a confused look, but she was already out of sight. I shrugged and continued upstairs, still a bit confused.

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I found out, a couple of days after the party, that my family and the Yoshida's have known each other for quite some time. Hikaru told me the story himself.[1]

It would seem that my great-grandfather used to know someone named Fujimiya Ran, who happened to be Hikaru's great-uncle. From what Hikaru heard, they were once really good friends. I guess they still kept that tie.

The story was somewhat garbled when Hikaru related it to me and when I asked him about it, all he said was that even he didn't know the entire thing. That was all his mother had told him and that was all she was willing to tell him, he said.

Ah, well, it's not like it's something very important.

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--- End Chapter Three ---

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[1] Regarding the family ties, here's how it goes: Fujimiya Ran's sister, Fujimiya Aya married Hidaka Ken (the pairing stuck XD). They had a son (Hikaru's grandfather) who then had a daughter (Hikaru's mother), who then married into the Yoshida family.

As for the Crawford family, let's just say they had all males (up until this generation at least), okay? ^^;; I didn't really work it out yet.


	4. Chapter Four

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Beautiful Alone

By: Raiha-chan

Spoilers: None.

Disclaimers: Weiß Kreuz and all its characters belong to Koyasu Takehito and Project Weiß. "Beautiful Alone", the first ED song, does not belong to me either. Do not sue me for I have nothing. Sad, really.

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--- Chapter Four ---

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"To every life, there's always an end,  
But I close my eyes, I still see your face; beautiful...  
And I throw a rose as they now lower you down  
But I still believe I'll see you again

I wait for the day that I can once more hold you tight  
Until then, I can't cry this pain away  
Until then, memories are all I have..."

I stared in fascination at the vision before me. Red against white against soft black silk, with rose petals scattered about.

You gotta hand it to Schuldig. The idiot definitely knew what he was doing… Not that I mind the whole scenario here, but the blood was getting disturbing.

Get him while he's hot, my ass. One of these days, I _will_ hurt that little bastard, valuable or not.

Getting rid of the useless thoughts in my head, I took a step towards the bed and its occupant. Didn't think Schuldig would go this far for the Takatori. Hell, I doubt he'd go so far for _me_.

Damn bastard. Probably laughing at me somewhere right at this very moment.

I stopped right beside the bed, looking down at the redhead. Sighing, I reached out and pushed the sheets back. Well, look at it this way…at least he wasn't injured.

…How the hell did I managed to get stuck with the clean-up job anyway?

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"Oh, my…how pretty," a nasal voice commented behind him. "And to think I went to all that trouble for that old man. I should've just spat in his face and kept the kitten for myself. Pity, really."

I ignored the German and continued on my task at wiping the blood away without waking the Japanese man. Or at least, I was trying to. A lot of the blood had already dried and wouldn't come off unless I press hard. And some of it were in rather…private areas. Areas I don't exactly want to touch, tempting as it is.

"Look at you," Schuldig made a 'tsk' sound and grabbed the wet cloth out of my hands. "How hard can it be to clean a beautifully pale, and extremely pliant - well, right now anyway - Japanese redhead up?" A pause then, "Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to add 'that you're attracted to'. Whoops on my part."

Glaring at the redhead behind me, I attempted at tuning out the laughter that was being projected at me verbally _and_ mentally.

And people say I'm never under stress. Having this idiot as a teammate, it's hard not to. Shows you how much people knows.

"Be quite, Schuldig!" I barked and immediately, the laughter ceased, but the smirk still remained. I snatched the cloth back and turned my back on the loud redhead. "Get out."

"Ooh, Bradley is mad. Should I be scared?" Schuldig chuckled again before disappearing from the room.

I fumed silently, all the while wiping the blood from the unconscious man's face and body. Hearing a soft whimper of pain, I ceased all motions and stared down at the face below me.

A pair of violet colored eyes opened slightly and blinked twice, before opening completely. They focused on me and for a moment, they held nothing but a blank and confused look in them. Finally, they widened to impossible widths as the owner finally realized the situation he's in.

"I'm not going to hurt you, believe it not." Damn, I did _not_ just say that…

"…You did _not_ just say that…" I blinked. And he blinked. And I blinked again.

Letting out a loud and frustrated groan, Fujimiya Aya pulled the black sheets up over his head. I just sat there, stunned.

…I think it's safe to say he's still high.

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Maybe I should backtrack a little bit and explain everything. Apparently, Prodigy has managed to hack into some painfully tight system, pulled out a file just in time, and before the system decided to perform an emergency shutdown. What was in the file, I have no knowledge of. But whatever it was, it was obviously enough for Takatori.

And of course, my visions decided to give me a little visit while I was reporting to the politician. Next thing I know, I was being ordered to do exactly as the vision indicated.

That, and we must bring the boy back alive. What for? I'm sure you all know so I will not explain it. If you don't, ask the person next to you. I'm sure he or she knows.

Since I always seem to live in bad luck, Takatori had asked me to make the boy all pretty again. What…joy.

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I stared down at the sleeping figure, slightly triumphant. I finally managed to scrape every little inch of him clean and left it void of evidence that might be connected to what happen earlier. Now, all I have to do is wait for Schuldig to come and do his job.

The door creaked slightly, and I turned, my musings halted by the sudden interruption. The German smirked at me again before gesturing towards the occupant on the bed. I merely ignored him and tapped a finger on my wristwatch.

"I was busy with something," Schuldig shrugged one shoulder.

"With what?" I inquired, as he took a step forward.

"Watching Farf play with his blender, among other things," Schuldig grinned again.

"You know what to do," I ignored his previous comments and took a few steps backward. Schuldig had, by this time, came up beside the bed.

"A complete mind-wipe?"

"Yes."

"Dare I ask why? Or did you 'not question those you work for' again?"

"Do it."

A soft snicker and finally, Schuldig focused his sole attention on the slumbering redhead. "It's not that hard. He'll just wake up with a blinding headache, that's all. Are you done playing with him, though? I know the old lecher is."

"Don't make me repeat myself, Schuldig."

"Alright, alright."

I watched Schuldig close his eyes. They remained shut for almost two minutes before they snapped open again. A slow smile work its way up on his face.

"Mission accomplished."

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--- End Chapter Four ---

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Brad still sounds OOC, so do forgive me. Maybe I'll just quit writing from his POV or something. -.-;; Feedback is always welcome! ^^ Oh, and I think you guys know when I'll be switching time frames, right? So it won't get confusing, I hope? ^^;


	5. Chapter Five

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Beautiful Alone

By: Raiha-chan

Spoilers: None.

Disclaimers: Weiß Kreuz and all its characters belong to Koyasu Takehito and Project Weiß. "Beautiful Alone", the first ED song, does not belong to me either. Do not sue me for I have nothing. Sad, really.

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--- Chapter Five ---

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"To every life, there's always an end,  
But I close my eyes, I still see your face; beautiful...  
And I throw a rose as they now lower you down  
But I still believe I'll see you again

I wait for the day that I can once more hold you tight  
Until then, I can't cry this pain away  
Until then, memories are all I have..."

I threw the door open, a grin playing on my lips. The violet-eyed boy stood there, seething. I pouted somewhat before pulling on another cheesy grin.

"Come on!" I pulled at Hikaru's sleeve and literally dragged him into and up the house. "This will be fun, I promise!"

"You say that to everything," Hikaru sighed softly, behind me.

"Do not!" I turned my head slightly so that he can see my face. "And besides, it's true, isn't it? This _will_ be fun or my name isn't Brad Crawford!"

Hikaru coughed.

"Oh, shut up. That was only once. So sue me."

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I managed to drag us both up into the dusty attic. Mom made me clean out the junk and being such a wonderful friend, I decided to rope Hikaru into helping me. Sure, I met some hesitation but that boy can never resists my charms.

"Now, where should we start?" I looked back at my reluctant helper. He gave me a one-shoulder shrug and continued to look bored.

"Well then," I rubbed my hands together gleefully, "Let's start with the boxes in the back." I jerked a thumb towards the corner where a tall closet stood.

"Whatever," Hikaru shrugged again. He moved towards the big boxes and blew at the top, causing the dust to scatter about. Some of the dust must have reached his nose because he started coughing up a storm.

Hikaru turned and glared at me, making his message clear. I retaliated by sticking my tongue out at him, then moving to another set of boxes to begin the work.

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I flopped down onto the hard floor, exhausted. And I only managed to finish sorting through three boxes. Damn job is killing my back muscles.

I jumped at the ice-cold touch against my cheek. Hikaru held out a can of soda to me and I took it, with a glare.

"So what did you find?" Hikaru sat down beside me.

"A lot of old letters and pictures," I replied. "I don't know what it's about, though, because they're all in German." I set the can down and reached over to the stack of albums and letters I made just a while ago. I took out the album right on the top and opened it to show Hikaru.

"Strange group of people, really," I commented, while pointing at a man with orange-colored hair. "I wonder who they are…maybe mom knows something."

Hikaru took the book from me and started flipping through the pages with mild interest. Deciding that I should get to work once more, I took another gulp of my soda and stood. I barely noticed the slip of paper that fell out of the book. Hikaru picked it up and looked at me.

"It's probably another letter in German again or something," I shrugged then move towards the unopened boxes.

"Or something," Hikaru murmured behind me. "It's in Japanese."

"What--?" I whirled my head around so quickly that I nearly lost my balance for a moment. "Let me see it." I took the offered paper eagerly and scanned through its contents as carefully as possible.

…Alright, that took about like…one second.

"Hika-chan…" I glared at the still-seated boy. "The only thing on this paper is 'thank you for everything'."

"At least it's not in German," Hikaru said, shrugging. I blinked at him, then narrowed my eyes when I registered the fact that he's barely aware of what I was saying.

"Oy, Hika-chan, are you even listening to me?" I pouted, then glanced down at the so-called letter again. That was when I saw it.

__

Fujimiya Ran.

I sneak a peek over at Hikaru then back down at the paper, then over to him again. My eyes widened as realization struck me.

"Fujimiya…that's your…" I watched in shock as Hikaru stood. "That's your great-grandmother's surname, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess…" Hikaru brushed a few strands of black hair away from his face.

"So then…Fujimiya Ran is--"

"--My great-uncle," Hikaru finished for me.

----------

"Jesus Christ, Brad! Stop running around the house or I'll personally make sure you will never get the chance to reproduce!" Maki screamed at the top of her lungs. I flew past her door before stopping and going back.

"Oy, Maki, I have a question," I stood, slightly panting from the running.

"What?" Maki glared.

"You know who the Fujimiya's are, don't you?"

"The only Fujimiya I know of is Fujimiya Aya and she's long dead. That's Hikaru's great-grandmother. Why do you ask?"

"Well…we found this up in the attic a couple of minutes ago," I took the paper out of my pocket and handed it over to my sister. Out of the corner of my eyes, I noticed Hikaru taking his sweet time walking over.

"'Thank you for everything'," Maki muttered. "And what, exactly, is your point here?"

"Look at the signature!" I hissed at her. "It says Fujimiya Ran. That's Hikaru's great-uncle!"

"Which brings me back to my question…WHAT is your POINT? Brad, you know already that our families -- both the Yoshida's and the Crawford's -- goes way back. So you found a letter from Hikaru's great-uncle…so what?"

"It says 'thank you for everything'!"

"I can read, thank you very much." Maki paused then narrowed her eyes. "You nosy little bastard. You wanted to know what he meant by it, don't you?"

"Uh…yeah, that too…" I chuckled, weakly. "But we found it stuck inside a photo album full of pictures and letters written in German. And none of the people in the pictures looked even remotely Japanese."

"What are you trying to get at, Brad?" Maki sighed.

"Look, nobody has been in the attic for years," I glared at her. "So no one has probably touched any of these stuff. Therefore, the letter has probably always been in the photo album. So now, my question is, what is a letter written in Japanese doing in a book full of…German stuff?"

"…German stuff?"

"That's one way of putting it." Maki gave me a strange look. "Oh, shut it, Maki! Just answer my question and you'll see my point."

"You told me to shut it so why should I answer your question?" Maki blinked at me, innocently.

"Maki!" I pouted. My sister giggled at me.

"Does it really matter?" Hikaru spoke up after a long while of silence. I turned my head sideways and gave him a quizzical look.

"Of course it matters!" I replied. "If the letter has always been in there, maybe it came with the album itself. So then, that would mean that your great-uncle is somehow connected with this…German dude. And--"

"In the end, it all comes down to one thing," Maki interrupted. "You're a nosy boy. Keep yourself out of matters that do not involve you. And get out."

"Bitch."

"Why, thank you. Now, get out."

----------

"You know…maybe I should ask grandma instead," I said as I walked Hikaru to the door. "I mean, she's like…older and everything. She might know more stuff than mom might since she was actually _there_…"

"Your sister is right, you know," Hikaru gave a soft sigh. "You _are_ one hell of a nosy person. I don't even want to know why you bother."

"And why shouldn't I? I keep hearing things about how our families goes 'way back' but I wanna know some more."

"And what good does that do you? It's not like it seriously matters. It's not as if your life depends on someone else's life -- someone that was alive over 50 years ago."

"…Why are _you_ so uninterested?"

"Because unlike someone I know," Hikaru gave me a light pinch on the cheek, "I'm not a nosy little bastard."

"Jerk. I'm not being nosy. I'm just curious, that's all."

"Curiosity killed the cat."

Instead of coming up with a witty reply, all I managed to get out was "…What?"

Hikaru gave me a strange look and his smile faltered. I was about to repeat my question when he suddenly smiles again. Though I could tell that this time, his smile was forced. I decided to kept my mouth shut for once, though that doesn't mean I don't want answers to my questions later.

"It's nothing. Just ignore it," Hikaru opened the door. "I'll see you in school tomorrow."

"Fine, fine…" I watched silently, as he leaves. Then I closed the door softly and leaned my back against it. I slid my eyes shut and stood deathly still. For a moment, I thought I heard something then I snapped out of it.

Mom was standing right in front of me in an apron, one hand holding a big bowl of dough and the other holding a big wooden spoon.

"Brad? Are you alright?" she asked, concern etched all over her face.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I popped another grin then literally bounced away from the door. "Remember to save some dough for me! And if Maki comes around trying to eat everything, tell her that her baby brother is still growing!"

"Brad…" I heard mom chuckled in the background as I made my way into my room.

__

I wanted to know…what it would be like to love you…

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--- End Chapter Five ---

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Dun-dun-dun. Crappy plot coming up.


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